Just curious why everyone on the board is always so excited about the z/28 over the SS? I'll explain why I'm asking...maybe it's performance related or I'm just not well educated enough in the differences between Z/28 and SS.

I owned a 1997 Z/28 that was a badass ride. However, the SS was the upgrade to the z/28. This was true for all 4th gen Camaros right? You would see the z/28 everywhere but the SS was far more rare and more expensive with beefed up performance parts.

Then the 5th GEN came out and all the V8s are called an SS whether it's a 1SS or a 2SS based on the options you want. Performance is the same. Yet there is no z/28 (yet). Why did GM/Chevy not just call the standard V8 Camaro a z/28 and instead just went with SS? This confuses most of my friends and family who think I really splurged to get the SS when the z/28 was always the more affordable of the V8 Camaro. They don't realize there is no z/28 for the 5th GEN.

Anyway, just thought I'd ask the experts here, because I honestly don't know. I do realize that in the 1st GEN there was the V6 and the V8 SS and the z/28 wasn't introduced until '69? Maybe that's why the 5th gen is SS since it's the re-birth? There were no SS in the 3rd gen right? I owned a 1986 Berlinetta back in the high school days. LOL. 2.8L baby!! Thanks to this site, I found the '86 Berlinetta was actually quite rare

Back in 1969 when they were not too scarce, there was no a/c, no power steering, no automatic transmission, they had a rock crusher transmission, 4.11 gears and posi and a little bitch of a 302 motor that could scream with a Holley carb, aluminum intake and 2.02/1.60 heads with 11 to 1 compression. There was nothing else like it. You can't duplicate that today, it's like a sequel to a great movie that does not cut it. I still remember the feeling I had when I saw my first one. You old guys know what I am talking about.

Oh wow where to begin? Sorry, but I'm gonna let Clyde and Lowdown handle this. (I'm in a read more than respond mood today)

I'll leave you with these 2 thoughts; 1. the SS designation has been used on many models, however the Z28 belongs only to Camaro, like the Z06 to the Vette. 2. The 5Gen was modeled after the 1Gen or the Camaro's beginnings. The Z28 entered in the 1967 model year as a street-able race car.

Well, it obvious that GM has played the SS and Z/28 game a number of times over the 5 generations. How about really stirring the pot with the IROC in Gen 3. It boils down to there is only one Chevrolet to ever carry the Z/28 name, that being the Camaro. There was the feeble attempt of giving it's weak sister the Cavalier the Z/24 name. But since 1961 the SS name has been doned and tainted on many unworthy models.

You can bet the next Z/28 will have a different engine than the SS and never be used on another model.

Back in 1969 when they were not too scarce, there was no a/c, no power steering, no automatic transmission, they had a rock crusher transmission, 4.11 gears and posi and a little bitch of a 302 motor that could scream with a Holley carb, aluminum intake and 2.02/1.60 heads with 11 to 1 compression. There was nothing else like it. You can't duplicate that today, it's like a sequel to a great movie that does not cut it. I still remember the feeling I had when I saw my first one. You old guys know what I am talking about.

Let's correct some mis-information first, then I'll explain. First gen. Z/28 production: '67-602, '68-7,199, '69-20,302. When the Camaro was first released in the fall of '66 for the '67 model year, there was no Z/28. Some of the executives within the Chevrolet/Camaro section felt that there needed to be a unique Camaro to compete in the SCCA TransAm Sedan Race Series. Some engineers were tasked with doing this and the vehicle that resulted was the Camaro Z/28, it was almost a production racecar available from the factory, it was not available with AC or auto tranny, nor was it available in a convertible. It featured a high compression (11:1) 302cid SBC with solid lifters that was able to rev 7k+ quite easily right off the showroom floor and featured the same Holley 780cfm carb found on some Chevy big block engines. The standard rear gear ratio was 3.73 with optional ratios up to 4.56(and possibly the 4.88s were available also). It could be equipped with a chin spoiler and a trunklid spoiler and was available with the wide "stereo" stipes on hood and trunk that were initially available on Z/28 only. The Z/28 was a mid-year introduction in the '67 model year (I think the first ones were built in Dec. '66). While the first gen SS Camaros were excellent cars, their high performance was more focused on 1/4 mile and straight line accelereation, the Z/28 was purpose built to be focused on excellent handling in curves as well as straightaways. If someone wanted an acceleration focused Camaro they bought a SS, if they wanted excellent all around handling for straightening out curves they chose the Z/28. While the SS models (available with several engine configurations) had great acceleration, throw some curves into the equation and all an SS would see is Z/28 tail lights. And that is a brief history of the heritage of the Z/28 and how it came to be.
Clyde

There was a limit of 305 cubic inches in the class it was designed for that was being dominated by the Boss 302 Mustang. The z/28 changed all that.

Again more dis-information! The Boss 302 did not even exist when the Z/28 was introduced in '67, in '67 the Mustangs in the TransAm series were running a 289cid engine. The Boss 302 was a response to the great sucess of the Z/28.
Clyde

Yes there was and it was a dismal failure as far as engines go. It was this lack of sucess with the tunnel port that led to the design of the Boss 302 engine. Various racing engineers from the Ford teams have said that after the tunnel port engine, Ford teams went to Chevrolet dealers and purchased Z/28 crate engines to disassemble and see what made them tick and why they ran so well. In some respects the Boss 302 was a blatant rip off of the Z/28 motor.
Clyde

Yes OP. The Z28 was first created to participate in the very popular at the time Trans Am series. A track halo car if you will. Chevy got the press with the Z28 and was winning the races after 1967. Ford did not catch up until 1970 in the series. That is where the rep comes from.

The SS was used on a number of cars, some good, some not so. Chevy misused the Z28 cache in later years. So it is the history that gives the Z28 its status.